If you work in an environment where you need to manage a large number of Macs (such as in a classroom), you might want to take a look at Apple's Remote Desktop. Using this pricy but effective software, you can easily control and manage all of the Macs on the network. Windows users probably take this functionality for granted, because that platform includes Remote Desktop Connection.
On the Mac side of the fence, however, this capability will set you back $299 for the 10-client edition and $499 for unlimited clients. So what do you get for that hefty ding in your budget? Let's take a closer look.
Installing Remote Desktop is straightforward. You have two packages: admin and client. You'll put the administrator package on your machine and everyone else gets the client software. Once everything is installed on the client side, you'll see the Remote Desktop icon in the System Preferences window.
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Click on Remote Desktop, and then click on the Sharing... button to configure the software.
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In the Sharing window, click on the Services tab and check the Apple Remote Desktop checkbox. This will start the Apple Remote Desktop service so the administrator (which is most likely you) can remotely manage this Mac using the IP address shown at the bottom of the screen (see Figure 3). Click on Access Privileges to determine the account that the administrator will use. Check the Show status in menu bar checkbox to display the status of Apple Remote Desktop on the menu bar.
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You can then select the user account to allow for monitoring. You can also refine the permissions for each user, such as the ability to let the administrator delete items, send text messages, etc. (see Figure 4). Click on OK to continue.
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That's it! The client setup is completed. One last thing to note is that the client can send a message to the administrator when that machine is being monitored (see Figure 5).
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Once the administrator package is installed, you can find the Remote Desktop icon in the Applications folder (see Figure 6).
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Double-click on the Remote Desktop to launch Apple Remote Desktop. If you're using the application for the first time, you'll see the following prompt, as shown in Figure 7. Click on the Add Computers Now button to search for all of the Macs that you want to remotely administer.
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You can click on the Search... button to find Macs to administer. You can search all computers on the local network, or search using a range of IP addresses. To add a Mac, click on the Add >> button and you will be prompted for a user name and password. This username is what you have configured earlier on the client to allow for administration (see Figure 8).
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Once the computers are added, you should see the Computer Status window as shown in Figure 9.
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You can observe what the remote computer is doing by clicking on the Observe button. In my case, the screen of the remote computer is displayed in a window (currently surfing web sites using Safari) (see Figure 10). This feature is useful if you want to monitor the kind of activity taking place on the user's computer, such as in a classroom environment:
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If you want to remotely control the Mac, you should click on the Control button. Once you do that, you will be able to use your mouse to control the Mac remotely. This feature is useful when you need to remotely administer multiple Macs, such as when installing new applications or updates.
In some cases, you may want to show the remote user how to perform a certain action. To do so, you may want to broadcast your own screen to the remote user. In this case, you click the Share Screen button to show the remote user your own screen.
You can also lock the screen of the remote computer by clicking the Lock Screen button (see Figure 11). The remote Mac's screen will then be locked, displaying the locked screen message.
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To chat with the remote user, click on the Text Chat button (see Figure 12).
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The Sleep and Wake Up buttons force the remote computer to sleep and wake up, respectively. You can also copy files between the client and the remote computer using the Copy Items button.
Under the Report item in the main menu, you can perform a software search on the remote computer using the Software Search... menu item (see Figure 13).
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You can also gather detailed information about the remote computer using the System Information... menu item (see Figure 14).
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The information gathered will then be displayed in the System Information Report window (see Figure 15).
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Apple Remote Desktop is a really cool addition to your admin toolbox if you need to maintain a large number of Macs. However, my own gripe is that it is not included in Panther itself; instead you need to pay quite a tidy sum ($499) for an unlimited license. But budget concerns aside, I am definitely impressed with how well it works!
Wei-Meng Lee (weimenglee.blogspot.com) is a technologist and founder of Developer Learning Solutions, a technology company specializing in hands-on training of the latest Microsoft technologies.
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